Decay
by Lazarus Saturday
Summary: A series of murders in the University of East Hoenn leads David Estok, medical student, to Professor Coolidge and his Project Starfish. The murderer is among them, and David will have to use all his skills to stop himself becoming the next victim of the killer. Prequel to Zivu's Echelon.
1. Episode 1: Midnight Murders

**Decay**

**Episode 1: Midnight Murders**

David Estok glanced at the bowl of popcorn on the couch next to him, the smell of butter drifting up from it blotting out his other senses. He would not eat it. The only reason it was there was because of his stupid sister.

He had diabetes. Plain and simple; that was how the doctor said it. David's health problems stem not from eating sweets, but rather from his father's genes. It didn't make his life too difficult, but it meant he could not eat as much of the sugar donuts and tarts he loved the taste of. The popcorn was probably caramel; his sister would do that.

Tomorrow was a big day for him. He was going into his second year at university, and he couldn't wait to get back to Professor Harper and the others. He longed to hold a scalpel in his hand and dissect a small animal, probably a frog.

He had one night to kill. It was too early to go to sleep, and he didn't have anything to do; the next best thing was sitting alone in his room, watching crappy B-rate movies until it was 8pm. The movies did take his mind off some things - particularly, the fact that the Medical Faculty had had its budget reduced for unknown reasons. _Guess I'll find out soon enough_, he thought.

Knock knock knock. The sound come from one of the windows in his house. He stood up, paused the image of the woman about to be eaten by a monster on the screen and walked over to the source of the noise. There was nothing there.

As he sat back down, there were the knocks again. This time it woke up his Furret, who was nestling by the sofa. The Furret stood straight up and looked around, alert. It then rushed to the window and made a squealing noise.

There was the sound of something hitting glass.

The window had a dark stain on it, one he could identified blindfolded. The bloodstain was in the shape of a handprint. He slid the window open, and in the dusk sky saw a limp body lying on the ground, covered in blood. It was a person - a woman, by her long hair, but he could not see what she looked like.

Her face had been sliced off.

* * *

Officer Hendricks wasn't pleased with David's angry protests about not having killed the woman, and so only let him go at 11pm. It was another hour before he fell asleep at his house. And now he was standing shakily in front of Professor Harper, who was rattling on about new lab rules.

The new set of students didn't look much. However, one boy caught David's eye: a lean boy with dark brown hair, the same colour dried blood would be. It was strange, blood being the first thing to come to mind.

The boy saw David looking at him, and turned away. David caught a glimpse of the name tag Professor Harper made everyone wear - his name was Eli Thomas.

"Professor," he said suddenly, cutting the older man off.

"What is it, Estok?" Professor Harper sounded annoyed, but he had known David for a year, and understood. The Professor's Hoothoot, however, seemed to glare at him.

"I heard we're going to get to take one of the students as an apprentice."

Harper's eyes lit up. "Ah, yes!" He rubbed his hands together, the lab rules forgotten. It didn't matter; they would go over it again anyway. "Thank you for reminding me, David. Would you like first pick?"

"No, thank you, Professor. I think Ellen would like to go first," he said. It was true. Ellen Mendel, David's friend of seven years (and his secret love interest) was itching to pick an apprentice. The second year was basically studying human anatomy, and the anatomy of a pokemon of your choice, so the students had a lot of free time on their hands.

Ellen bounced up and down like an excited kid. "I'll go with…I can't decide!" She paced up and down in front of the freshmen, who were lined up. Eventually she stopped at one boy with a blonde mop of hair. "What's your name?" she asked, somewhat aggressively. She wanted someone with confidence; David did not even have the guts to tell her about his feelings.

"Adam Hewitt, miss," he said.

Ellen smiled. The most perfect smile she was capable of. And David liked that. "Well, Adam, how would you like to be my new apprentice?"

Adam nodded eagerly. He took his place by Ellen's side, and now it was David's turn. "Let's see…" He walked up to Eli, and put a hand on the younger student's shoulder. "You." Eli didn't say a word, just stepped out of the line and with him.

The rest of the second-yearers took their time to choose their apprentice. David watched from a distance, but he was more focused on Eli. What was so special about the boy? He didn't know, but he intended to find out.

He was so lost in thought he didn't notice Ellen tapping him on the shoulder. "Hey, want to go get ice cream?"

David froze. Had Ellen just asked him out? No, it wasn't; she had merely been asking as a friend. "Of-of course," he stammered. She just laughed.

* * *

There wasn't a lecture in another two hours, and he was now standing at the entrance to the Chemistry Faculty. For what reason? One of the professors had called on him. The meeting point was here, at the new KlingKlang-shaped fountain in front of the building.

"Ah, David!" said Professor Coolidge, stepping out from behind the double doors of the faculty. "I seem to be seventeen seconds late; sorry." He drew a device from his pocket. A PDA. "I'd like to ask for your help with the Starfish Project."

David raised an eyebrow. "And that is…"

"My team and I are trying to use Staryu and Starmie DNA to create a new drug, dubbed Regenerator, but we need your knowledge to be able to see if it works." Coolidge handed him the PDA. On it was a list of files related to the project. "If you could set up tests with Rattata, and hopefully humans, we can finish this in the next year."

"What's in it for me?"

"You get to go with us to pitch it to the World Council, and if it gets through, you'll be named as one of the creators of Regenerator. We can reduce death rates worldwide!"

David considered the idea. If he agreed, it would make him look better in everybody's eyes. But would he have as much time to spend with Ellen? And why would they choose a second-year student rather than someone close to graduating?

"Why me, Professor?"

Coolidge sat down on the fountain's edge. "What did you see last night, David?"

He froze. How did the Professor know about that? "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I believe the murderer is someone in the team. Now stop denying it and help me!" The last two words were almost a shout. " He smiled. "Sorry, got a bit too frustrated there. We need someone from an outside faculty to find this guy. I can't trust any of the team members."

"Deal, then." Truth was, David wanted to know who was responsible for the murders. But he still couldn't understand how some murderer would be related to Project Starfish.

"Follow me."

David walked after him into the Chemistry faculty. The interior was a clean, white space - almost too clean, and he found himself cringing at the lack of dirtiness.

"You first time here?" asked Coolidge, opening a door to the stairwell.

"Yes, actually. Where are we going?"

Instead of going up, Coolidge went behind the stairs. He rubbed a finger on the wall, and to David's surprise, a keyhole appeared. Coolidge held up two fingers, both stained with dust. "Gel developed from Swalot slime. My Swalot, to be exactly. It has a special property: it takes on the appearance of whatever is mixed with it."

Now David saw why Coolidge had so much faith in developing Regenerator. If his team could synthesise something like the Swalot gel, Regenerator wouldn't be far away. For decades scientists all over the world had struggled to create what Coolidge's team did.

"The gel turns into a solid powder when enough heat is applied, here being me rubbing my fingers." Coolidge took out a golden key, which fitted perfectly into the keyhole. There was a quiet hum, and the whole wall split in half.

Behind David and Coolidge the wall slid closed, and one of the team members of Project Starfish rushed in to refill the keyhole with Swalot gel. Coolidge led David down to a small circular hub, tables arranged around a tank of Staryu and Starmie. On some of these tables were lab Rattata being injected with prototype versions of David guessed was Regenerator and on others were test tubes full of boiling liquid.

As they passed, each team member turned to Coolidge and gave a polite hello. David himself received inquisitive looks from the assembled students. Coolidge clapped his hands loudly, and the students stopped what they were doing.

"Alright, everyone. This is our new team member: David Estok. As I promised, here's a student from Medical. He'll help you conduct all the tests as well as analyse the Regenerator samples to see if they're too dangerous for humans. Remember: treat him as if you would treat one another."

There was a moment of silence, and the students lapsed into their hubbub of activity again, having registered David to their memories.

"David, come here," said Coolidge, walking up a small set of stairs to a small round door, right beside another metal door labeled 'Chemical Storage'. "We permit pokemon in this lab. Since you can't enter the building with one, use this service tunnel. It leads to the back of the lecture hall. Please make sure your Furret's content with the fact that we're testing on Rattata here, before bring him, okay?"

"How did you know I had a-," David began, but Coolidge's smile prevented him from speaking.

"I've been aiming for you since last year. I knew you'd be perfect for the Starfish Project from the start; I actually intended to recruit you next year, but because of the current circumstances I'm forced to do so right now. I'm sorry for the reason you're here."

"Professor, you don't have to apologise." David gave him a wide smile. "What I've seen so far is amazing. I'd love to work for you. I promise, I'll find the murderer and bring him to you."

"Aren't you late for a date, David?"

The memory of accepting to go get ice cream with Ellen flashed in his mind. Within seconds his face was beet red. He still had no idea how much Professor Coolidge knew about him. "Erm...I'll just...go…"

* * *

"Estok, you're late." Ellen waved a cone of ice cream at him. "Where have you been? I've never known you to be ten minutes late. Five, yes, but ten? You've never done this before."

David could practically feel his ego shrink two, three times. Ellen had that effect on him. "I'm sorry. One of the professors needed my help with something."

"Well, at least you're here." She sat down at a table. David followed suit. "Hey," she said, and he looked up. "I've something to tell you."

"W-w-what?" He was sure he was blushing again, even if the ice cream in his mouth took away the heat. This was the moment. And he didn't even have to make the first move.

"I'm the new Tourney host this year!" She clasped her hands together, delighted. David's face dropped with disappointment, but she didn't notice. "It's going to be great! I'll try to do better than Johan last year, but it's difficult to top the best...so, will you be my co-host?"

The last words snapped David out of his thoughts. "I'd love to!" he said before he could stop himself. Okay. Maybe this crush on her wasn't so healthy. Where would he find the time to help Professor Coolidge now?

"Thanks, David!" She threw her arms around him.

But he couldn't be happy. Helping both the Professor and Ellen would take up a lot of his time. That meant even less sleep. "Anything for you, Ellen," he whispered.

* * *

It wasn't enough. The lab Rattata just kept _dying_. Humans, yes, that was the perfect solution. If Regenerator worked on humans, there would be no more testing required. But there was a problem. The drug wasn't perfect, and the humans died too. There had to be a solution. The new mixture of the drug - 50% more Starmie DNA - is done now. Alright...who's the next one?

* * *

He woke up early. 5:30, to be exact. It was a habit he obtained from high school, where he had to bike really far away to not be late. Today it was a curse. all his muscles ached, and he was blacking out occasionally as he walked to the shower.

The warm water refreshed him. It was like heaven, being awoken by the streams of water from the showerhead in the early morning, when the air was still chilly.

He put on a crisp white shirt with a silver necktie, and plain black trousers he'd had for years. They didn't seem to ever get too small for him. David drew the curtains of his dorm room aside, exposing himself to the warm orange light of the dawn. Every sunrise in Hoenn was beautiful, his mother had once said, and he couldn't disagree.

The cool morning air was quite fresh, despite the university being only aways from Lilycove city - maybe he'll go there sometime to get cooking supplies.

"Up so early, David?" Coolidge's voice came from down the corridor. David jumped, not expecting to see someone up this early. "I hope you're not going for your morning run, because Professors Hart and Frobisher are at it again."

"What are they doing?"

"They're trying to sneak a herd of wild Miltank into the campus. Last time I remembered that happened, someone had to catch, I don't know, half of them? The rest just ran away afterwards. It's not helping that they're getting it from the Safari Zone."

David just shook his head- nothing to say to that. "How's Project Starfish going?"

"We're making a lot of progress. Just yesterday, Ludlow discovered the presence of a strange enzyme in the Starmie core. We think it's what promotes the regeneration."

"I've a feeling that's not why you're here."

"Of course not. Follow me, please." He swung around on his right heel, lab coat blown by the wind.

The orange dawn finally elapsed into a blue morning, and he could hear the first students waking up in their dorms as he walked down the stairs. Coolidge was humming to himself a song David didn't recognise, and his steps made up a steady rhythm.

"Moo!" Miltank. Apparently one of the meddling professors had succeeded. David shook his head, following Coolidge back to the Chemistry building. The same procedures with the hidden doorway under the stairs were repeated, but this time the inside of the lab was dark and empty. Coolidge walked up to a large lever and pulled it down, causing the lights into the room to come on.

On one of the tables around the aquarium was a sheet of white cloth. And under the cloth was the distinctive shape of a body. Another victim.

With a flourish the sheet on the body was pulled off by Coolidge, and David came face-to-face with the ice cream shop clerk who had taken Ellen's orders yesterday. He didn't even know the man, but felt a pang of guilt, knowing he was probably one of the last people to see him alive. "Why aren't the police involved?"

"They are. But one of the officers told me that if they were to get involved, the killer would get away." He saw David's shocked face, and continued, "I know, it's stupid. They couldn't just send someone undercover, couldn't they? No matter. We can solve this ourselves."

"How did he die?" David asked, putting on a glove and running it over the body. It was still slightly warm. "There's no sign of trauma; it looks like he was alive one moment and dropped dead the next." He put on another glove and flipped the body over. There were two puncture wounds on the back. "Ah, sorry, jumped to conclusions too fast. Can you analyse this liquid?" he asked, pointing at the clear substance leaking out of the puncture wounds.

"Done. It's the enzymes Ludlow discovered; a concentrated solution's been injected into him."

"You work fast, professor. If you know how he was murdered, why would you need me?"

Coolidge pulled the sheet back over the body. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. I brought you here now so you can see the potential of Regenerator."

"And that is…"

"This body was found seven hours ago."

He stood in stunned silence. David touched the corpse again. Yup, it was warm. Seven hours? No was… "How is that possible?"

"I've told you, David, we're coming close to creating Regenerator. The enzymes force the cells inside the body to keep on respiring even if its technically dead, hence the heat. But that little gap between success and failure is going to take a long time to cross. In that space of time, a hundred murders might occur, before we find the right formula. We're the only ones who can stop this."

"Is there no other way…?" he whispered. Who would be next? Ellen could be the next target, for all he knew. The killer had to be stopped. But how would he do that? One of the corpses was in police custody and the other had too little evidence to derive from. The horrible dawned on him: he would have to wait for the next murder in order to figure out a pattern. That meant allowing the killer to make another move.

Professor Coolidge pushed the table away from him. "We can't be certain yet, but if I'm right, there'll be another kill soon. He or she will probably make their move tonight, or the next night. coming so close to success will just motivate them."

David was lost in thought. A million things ran past his mind, none of them making sense. Still, he searched for a pattern. Something unique flashed by ,and he mentally grabbed it. Of course. How could he be so stupid? "Why wasn't he mutilated?" he asked suddenly, pointing to the corpse. "The woman had most of her facial features sliced off. He's relatively unharmed."

Coolidge's eyes widened more than Professor Harper's Hoothoot. "You're right. Why did the killer leave him unharmed?"

The truth was right there in front of him. "Who found the corpse?"

* * *

The hidden lab turned into a hub of activity once again, with more and more testing going on. Professor Coolidge had wheeled the table away an hour ago, to prevent the students from seeing it, and had told David to resume attending his lectures.

He had one exactly in a few minutes. He skimmed over the stone path to the lecture hall, constantly checking his watch. Almost running late, he burst into the hall, to find Ellen glaring at him.

"Where have you been this time? Sit down; we're about to start. And you really don't want to miss this one." She sauntered away, David still panting from running.

He took the seat next to her, his notebook out and ready. But he couldn't concentrate on the subject at hand. His mind was still prodding at the different possibilities of the murderer's identity. It was in the middle of the night, and the first person who found the body was, in fact, Adam Hewitt. There was simply no way Adam could have done it - he had hardly any medical experience, and wasn't even aware that Project Starfish existed.

"David?"

He snapped out of his thoughts. The lecturer was still going on about the bad habits of the students. "Sorry, Ellen, I was thinking about something."

"Well, if you don't stop, you're not going to pass second year." She opened her notebook and prepared to jot down the lightning-fast speech of the lecturing professor's.

Yet his mind drifted. If not Adam, then did Adam see someone? He made a mental note to ask Ellen's apprentice when he saw him. "Alright, I'll have to do this afterwards then," he wondered aloud, not realising the lecture had started.

The student sitting on the row behind him shushed him. David turned to say sorry to the golden-haired boy.

Ellen was now jotting down details, but David's notebook was empty. He could write it all down later - his memory was that good. For now, he had to find who the murderer was.

* * *

The afternoon was warm, to say the least. His Furret curled around his shoulders, purring softly as he walked through the park. David stopped at the edge of the lake in the middle of the park to look at his own reflection.

There was a sniffing sound, and suddenly Furret leapt from his shoulders and into the river, grabbing a Magikarp. He watched it sink its teeth into the fish, and slowly eat parts of the Magikarp, smiling with delight.

"Fur!" it purred again, climbing up his body and onto his shoulders. He rubbed its head. Once per week, Furret would do the same thing. Once the guys at the Lilycove Tech built a working translator, he'd be able to understand his pokemon better. It wasn't if Furret couldn't learn the human language, but it merely didn't have vocal chords to do so.

He picked up a stone and lobbed it into the lake. It made a small splash in the lake, near the centre where the bridge across was; the lake was in the shape of a pokeball.

David thought about his one and only crush, Ellen, and how she sparkled everything inside him, how she managed to subdue him anytime with just a smile, and her temper. "Soon, I'll be the luckiest guy on Earth," he said aloud.

"Yes, I hope you'll be," said someone from behind him. "And yes, I know who you're talking about. I can tell from the way you look at her." Adam, Ellen's apprentice, joined him at the lakeside. "That your pokemon?" he asked, indicating the Furret that was snoozing against David's shoulder.

"Yes. What's yours?" David asked. "Do you have a pokemon?"

Adam shook his head. "One day I will. Not this day. I don't think I'll have enough time to take care of it and study at the same time." He yawned. "You asked me here?" Adam smiled slyly...wait, was he gay?

"I don't swing that way, you know," David said, just in case. Adam just laughed. "Anyway, I know that Professor Coolidge told you to stay quiet about the body - I guess he's told you that you can tell me?"

"Yeah, he did. I found the body in the back of the Archeology building. Was the ice cream shop clerk - don't know why anyone would want to kill him."

"Did you see anyone else while you were there?"

"One of the Chem students were trying to get a fossil pokemon done for them, so he was up quite late. He walked out the back door minutes after I saw the clerk."

"Describe him to me, Adam," David said, looking into his eyes. That guy was from Chem. And possibly a part of Project Starfish as well. Not to mention that he might have come back to pretend to find the body. "I need to know exactly what he looks like."

"Well, he's got brown eyes and blonde hair, but it was dark and I couldn't see the rest of him."

"That's not helpf-" He froze. "Oh, shit."

Adam looked at him inquisitively. "What's the matter?"

Blonde hair. Brown eyes. He'd met him just an hour ago. "Thanks for the help, Adam. You can go now."

Adam shrugged and walked away without a word.

* * *

David headed for the Chemistry faculty. There was an hour to go until the next lecture, and it was more important anyway. He walked under the stairs, after dropping Furret off at the counter.

David put his finger on the part of the wall where the keyhole supposedly was, and rubbed. The friction from the rubbing and his body heat caused the Swalot slime to turn to a crumbly powder, and the keyhole appeared.

Problem was, he had no key.

Not knowing what else to do, he knocked three times. No response. He knocked again, three quick knocks, three slow knocks and another three quick knocks. SOS.

The wall split open, and he came face-to-face with Coolidge, who was grinning like an idiot. "We've nearly done it!"

"Sorry, not the time," he said, pushing the Professor aside. He could apologise for that later. David walked down the stairs to the hub, eyes scanning the room. He spotted the blond boy from the lecture standing idly, watching a centrifuge spin.

David walked up to him. "Can we talk?"

"I'm busy," the blonde boy said, looking bored. "Go away."

David leaned in closer. "I know you were the one who injected the ice cream shop guy with experimental Regenerator, so shut up and get into the chemicals room."

Having no desire for his intentions to be revealed, the blonde boy complied. He opened the door to the chemical storage and walked inside the chilly room.

"Tell me your name," demanded David.

"George Blunchuss." He looked totally innocent. Did he get the wrong person? It was unlikely, as there were no other blonde boys in Project Starfish.

"Why did you do it?"

Blunchuss responded by grabbing a chemical bottle and flinging it at David. He sucked and the bottle smashed into the wall behind him, spilling its deadly contents onto the floor.

When he looked up, George rammed into him, knocking him over, and opened the Chemical Storage door. He stood up and exited the cold room. Coolidge and the other students looked at him in awe. He looked at the professor. "I got him," he breathed. "Where did he go?"

Everyone pointed at the door to the exit tunnel.

David swore, and ran up the stairs the other way. He would have to intercept George. At the counter he picked up Furret, who was playing with the receptionist. "We have work to do," he told it, and rushed out the door.

Outside, the sky had gone gloomy and light drops of rain was drizzling around him. The lecture hall wasn't so far away, but as the tunnel was shorter, he had to hurry. Across the roads of the university campus he sprinted, his foot mshing grass, dirt, concrete.

He swung around the corner of the lecture hall, getting into the back. Furret leapt from his shoulder, a fierce expression on its face...but the backyard of the the lecture hall was empty. The door to the secret tunnel hung open.

Blunchuss had escaped.

Wait, no. He could still be around. The logical decision would be to head for the entrance to the university, only two kilometres away. David ran in the direction. As he neared the entrance, the rain stopped, but a mist shrouded the world, reducing his visibility to a few metres.

A ball of energy flew straight into him, knocking the breath out of him and sending him sprawling into the grass. A figure loomed over him. Blunchuss. "I thought you'd be better at this. Did Coolidge bring you in to catch us?"

George had said ""us". There was more than one of them. "You're not too good either, George."

"What are you talking about?" He looked angry.

"That!" David shouted, and rolled out of the way as Furret's thunderbolt streaked at Blunchuss. He yelped and dodged, earning only a small shock.

"Energy ball!" the killer shouted. His unseen pokemon unleashed a green orb that missed furret by millimetres.

"Furret, fire punch!" he had already guessed the grass typing of Blunchuss' pokemon, and Furret leapt, flaming paw outstretched, at the origin of the last attack.

A Gloom toppled out of the mist, dazed by Furret's fire punch. "Again!" David shouted, and furret crashed into the grass type, knocking it out.

George threw another pokeball, releasing a Tirtouga. "Aqua jet!"

The turtle sped at Furret at a high speed, knocking David's pokemon aside. "Use thunderbolt again!"

Furret's fur crackled with electricity, but Tirtouga slammed into it again, dissipating the charge and knocking Furret to the ground. "Use rock tomb!" Blunchuss practically screamed.

There was no escape. Furret was stunned, and there was no way he could save his pokemon. David drew out Furret's pokeball, ready to recall him and let George escape.

"Sludge bomb!" called someone from the mist. A ball of goo flew straight at Tirtouga and knocked it unconscious. "Swalot, use swallow!"

A massive purple blood rolled out of the mist and enveloped Blunchuss, who was staring in shock in the direction of the new voice. He struggled, but it was useless. The Swalot swallowed him whole.

Professor Coolidge walked into David's area of visibility. "One second too late and your Furret's done for." he said. "Swalot, spit him out, please."

The purple pokemon made a convulsing noise, and George Blunchuss tumbled out, clutching a strange pokeball. "You can't stop us, even if you tried," he croaked.

David knelt down beside him. "You said there were more of you. Who are they?"

Blunchuss laughed, and said, "Selfdestruct."

"Shit! Furret, get out of there!" Both trainer and pokemon ran as far away from George on the ground as possible, Swalot being recalled by Professor Coolidge. The "pokeball" David saw earlier spun around, revealing a face. It began to crackle with blue lightning, and when it reached its peak, the Voltorb exploded, taking Blunchuss with it.

* * *

"You okay, David?" Ellen asked, rushing to his side. He was lying in his bed. Apart from a few bruises inflicted by Gloom's energy ball he was relatively uninjured.

"I'm fine," he said, sitting up. His dorm room was colder than normal - the heater was broken, but it was fine.

"What happened out there?" She was so worried, and David appreciated that. Should he tell her about Project Starfish? There would be no harm, right? No - the people going after him would probably come for her if they knew. He had to keep it a secret. "I don't remember. I was knocked unconscious."

Ellen nodded and embraced him. The next ten seconds were the best and worst of his life at the same time. He was glad to be with Ellen, but at the same time, there were things he didn't tell her. That could be a problem later.

He looked over at Furret, snoring softly on the couch, and promptly fell asleep with Ellen in his arms.


	2. Episode 2: Rendition

**Episode 2: Rendition**

_Dum, da-dum, da-dum-da-dum-da-dum!_ The stick weaved through the air, the conductor's perfect gestures leading the assembled musicians to a crescendo, and crashing back down again. Around the inside of the opera house - designed exclusively so that the sounds would properly reflect off its walls - rows upon rows of audience sat, both student and professor.

David Estok was on the fifth row from the front, next to Ellen, quietly watching the orchestra. It was three weeks after George Blunchuss was revealed as the murderer, and there had been no further murders. His mind was currently on other things. The fragile relationship between him and Ellen, for instance.

It was their first date. In the past weeks, David had only just mustered up the courage to ask her out; or at least, he thought he did. He just hoped that hour of dating tips with Adam helped. What was that Adam said? "Be yourself, David," was what he told him.

"Be yourself my ass," muttered David, glancing warily at Ellen, who was enjoying the concert. How on Earth was she listening to this stuff? He held back a yawn and put a fake smile on his face. Sooner or later this thing would be over.

The conductor, with his powerful arm movements, brought the stick down. The brass players, sitting alternated with multiple Exploud, gave out a low note, one which signaled the end of the song. The audience clapped heartily, with the exception of David.

Ellen grabbed his hand. A shock went through his spine, more powerful and hair-raising than that one time Furret accidentally unleashed a thunderbolt on him. "Thank you so much David," she said, smiling that perfect smile of hugged him again, and gave him a little peck on the cheek. "It's getting late now: shouldn't we be getting back to the dorms?"

"You're right," he replied half-heartedly, but blushing. Something was wrong. There was something out of place. He did know how he felt it, but there was definitely something bad coming. The hairs of his arms stood up again, this time not because of Ellen, but because of static in the air.

Before anyone could move, there was the sound of an explosion and the lights went out. David's hand immediately snapped out for Ellen's in the darkness and he succeeded in grabbing her wrist.

"Sorry! Generator must've exploded or something!" Professor Hart shouted. "Hey, what's that…?"

A blue orb of light was floating above the very last row, pulsing a little. It dipped lower, and moved towards the stage. There it hovered briefly, before becoming brighter. A blast of blue electricity arched toward the performers on the stage, narrowly missing the lead violin Kricketune. An attack David recognised as zap cannon.

The glowing pokemon repeatedly blasted consecutive zap cannons at the people on the stage, Blue lightning sending people into a panic. The exploud leapt at it, trying to land a hit, but it hovered out of reach every time.

Suddenly, there was a gravelly roar, and a larger shape came crashing onto the stage. In the dim light David couldn't see what it was, and he was trying to get the hell out of the carnage. The unseen pokemon tore a large chunk of solid wood out of the stage, and threw it at the blue orb.

There was another explosion, but this time the blue light was gone. The generator came back on - Professor Hart had successfully restored the power - and the lights flickered on. People stopped running around, and on the stage was an Armaldo, Professor Coolidge standing beside it and grinning like an idiot.

* * *

There was a line in front of the opera house, coming out of the building. Police officers stood idly by, two of them checking the students one-by-one for any potential suspects. A boy with chestnut hair was roughly pulled out of the line, and a pair of policemen took him away.

Damn, David thought. What if they suspected him? There were still three more people to go before it was his turn. At least he didn't have an electric pokemon.

"Next!" Before he knew it, it was his turn. The policeman glared at him through dark shades, even though it was night time. David stepped forward arms out the sides so the guy could pat him down. It took about seven seconds.

The policeman looked at a list, and for a moment David wondered what would happen if he didn't fulfil it. Would he be thrown in prison with that other boy? A few moments of list reading became minutes. He was sweating now. If the list was that long, it was likely he was on it.

"What's your name?"

"David Estok, sir." He tried to keep a cool head, but then began panicking. Something was off.

"Well," the policeman said, frowning. "You're clear."

A sigh of relief later, and David walked out of the line. The police Herdier took one sniff at him, and sat back down by its owner. He saw a messenger run in from inside the building, his Mightyena trailing behind and growling excitedly. He went to each one of the checkpoint officers, and asked them a question.

What's that about? he thought to himself. Had they found the perpetrator already?

All hell broke loose when the officer who had screened David talked to the courier. His eyes widened in an instant, and he spun, pointing a finger accusingly at David.

In seconds the Herdiers took him down. The messenger's Mightyena put a paw on his chest, baring its teeth. "I didn't do anything!" he protested, but nobody listened.

A hundred pairs of eyes watched as he was dragged away. But most importantly, Ellen was watching from a distance with her mouth agape.

* * *

"Ah, shit," he muttered under his breath, as he was put into the office of Inspector Hendricks, who was shaking his head. "Please, I didn't do it this ti-"

"Shut up!" Hendricks shouted, slamming a palm down on the table. "You've no excuse, you know. Just sit there and wait for the second suspect! Once was enough, but twice! Who the hell are you, trying to destroy your own university?"

David wanted to retort. He wanted to talk back against the asshole holding him against his own, free will that Hoenn so blatantly advertised. But it was a rhetorical question, so he needn't put himself in more trouble than he currently was in. And so he waited.

David wanted to retort. He wanted to talk back against the asshole holding him against his own, free will that Hoenn so blatantly advertised. But it was a rhetorical question, so he needn't put himself in more trouble than he currently was in. And so he waited.

A minute later, the boy he'd seen dragged out earlier was sitting next to him, a look of total outrage on his face.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Hendricks whistled, and an officer walked in with some scrap metal on a tray.

No...it was a Magnemite, a shiny one at that. When the other boy saw it, his eyes widened. "Oh, no," he whispered. Hendricks took the opportunity to lean in close to his face.

"I'm guessing it belongs to you, yes?" It wasn't a question, but rather a demand. "Tell me, boy, why would you attack the university?" When there was no reply, he added, "If you admit to your crimes, Craig, we might let you out in only a few months."

Craig was silent, considering Hendricks' deal. But admit to murder? That was not a good sign. "What's the other option?"

"Extradition."

There was a long moment of silence. Extradition? And to think they were going to do it to students...David thought it had been reserved for terrorists.

"That's not my Magnemite," said Craig slowly. "Mine is currently in my dorm."

"Well, too bad," said the Inspector, waving his hand in dismissal. "My men have searched your room, and there is no sign of the shiny Magnemite anywhere. So now either you're lying...or it belongs to you." He pointed a crooked finger at David.

David flinched. "Why am I even here? I don't have a Magnemite."

"Forensics say your DNA is all over the generator. You were the one who sabotaged the opera house. I'm giving you the same deal here."

No he couldn't give in. He knew full well it wasn't him who did it. "Someone must've planted it there."

"Very well, you're both going for the extradition, I presume?" He activated the intercom in his desk. "Officer, please escort the suspects to Sergeant Halberg's quarters, please. Tell him it's extradition." He took his finger off the button. "Have fun with the Sergeant." There was a sadistic smile plastered on Hendricks' face.

"I swear, I didn't do it!" David screamed at him, but it was no use. One shake of a head from Craig and he knew there was nothing he could do. "You got the wrong guy!"

But Hendricks wasn't listening, and the officer outside led them towards an office at the end of the corridor. Towards their doom.

* * *

"David, we gotta get out of here," said Craig from the other corner of the dark cell. It had been lights-out three minutes ago, and neither of them were too keen to fall asleep. Both were still thinking of ways to escape their current confinement.

"Tell me about it," said David, running his hands over the smooth concrete wall. His palms hurt from the knife wounds on them, but he persisted. The wall was totally smooth, just a single slab on concrete with no way out. He sighed and sat down.

The sound of jingling keys alerted him. David tired to see out into the dark corridor, but there wasn't enough light. The sound came closer, and David wondered if it was a trick. Another psychological experiment by Sergeant Halberg? The ones he had performed didn't break them, but David suspected that if this was, it would.

"Psst," someone whispered. "David, Craig, you two in there?"

David grabbed the bars. It could be a trick, but right now he didn't care. "Here! Over here!" he whispered back. A figure walked in front of the cell, the same stocky build as Halberg. He had fallen for it. It was all a trick

"Klefki, open the door, please." The sound of the jingling was revealed to be Klefki, with more keys on it than any Klefki David had ever seen. It sorted through its assorted instruments, and came up with one, which inserted into the cell door lock with a click.

David ran out of the cell to see who it was that had rescued him. But it wasn't Professor Coolidge's face that was peering into the cell - it was the hawk-like features of Professor Hart's face. "Professor?" he said. Hart turned around and saw him.

"Who else is in the cell?"

"A boy called Craig. I think he was framed by the killers for owning that Magnemite." Hart's brow furrowed at the mention of Craig's name. David decided to continue. "I was framed, too. They said they found my fingerprints all over the generator. You were there too, Professor."

"I know! As I recall, my boy, there was no such thing! They found no fingerprints - even said it was likely that a pokemon did it."

Ah, so there it was. The police were likely under the authorisation of someone else. Could the killers be that powerful? He doubted it, but it was still a possibility. Klefki suddenly began to jingle violently, and David looked at it. It pointed all of its keys towards the end of the corridor, where a flashlight beam was wavering closer.

"Who's there?" came a voice. "If you're still up I'll get Halberg to have another round with you."

Hart put a hand on David's shoulder. "Get your friend, and let's get out of here."

David shook his head. "He can't walk - got his toes sliced up pretty bad by the sadist here. We need to get rid of that guard."

"Klefki, use dazzling gleam," Hart whispered. The professor's pokemon floated to the corner, where the guard appeared. A bright pink light shone from the pokemon, and before the guard could yell out Hart landed a hard right hook to his face. He shook the hand. "Damn, that hurt," he whispered. "Let's get out of here."

The professor and David helped the injured Craig up to the roof - three times they had to pause for patrol to pass by. On the rooftop, there was a dragon waiting for them, it's body blue but its head red. "Druddigon, fly this boy to the academy." The dragon nodded, and draped a now-asleep Craig over his back. "Get him to Coolidge - don't let anyone see you."

The large, bulky pokemon took off, leaving the pair along on the rooftop. "How are we going to get back now?" David asked. He just hoped Hart had another pokemon that could fly.

"Watch!" the professor said. He moved behind one of the air-conditioning units on the roof, and pulled out a large basket, like one from a hot air balloon. Except there wasn't such a balloon in sight. Professor Hart tossed a pokeball into the air, releasing a bulbous pokemon that floated in the air.

The Drifblim wrapped its "arms" around slots in the basket, and Hart got inside. "Come on, no time to waste!"

David got into the basket as well, feeling Drifblim's swaying grip on it. At least he wasn't airsick. The ride went smoothly, albeit slowly, and after a minute the university was in sight. The buildings were all dark, save for the radio tower, which he already knew broadcasted all night.

Professor Hart's Drifblim landed on the small field behind the Archeology faculty, the basket softly touching the glass. David climbed out, and immediately tried to open the hatch that led to the Project Starfish HQ. He stopped himself from revealing its location to Professor Hart just in time.

"Don't worry, I'm part of it too," Hart said, pulling the hatch open himself. "I think you'll be surprised with the actual size of this project."

He followed Hart through the tunnels, and in no time he emerged into the hub area, next to the chemical storage. No wonder Blunchuss had taken so little time to escape - the tunnel was essentially an escape route, designed to evacuate personnel in case of emergencies. That reminded him: what did this place use to be before Coolidge took over? A medical research lab didn't simply have a shortcut for escape.

Coolidge was tending to Craig, who was sitting on a couch he had dragged over, with Druddigon standing in the corner. The other boy was now awake, and wincing every time Coolidge did something to his feet.

"Sebastian," Hart said, making Coolidge turn around. "We have to move these two out. The other students will see them and that'll be the end of it."

Coolidge pointed to a door David had never entered before. Hart recalled his Druddigon, and opened it to reveal a well-furnished room complete with two beds and a television set. Professor Hart led David to a chair and began dressing his wounds, despite seemingly not having any medical experience.

Soon afterwards Hart was done and Craig was delivered onto the bed. "He should be fine tomorrow - just don't try to make any noise when the rest of the students come here. Get as much rest as you can," Coolidge said, before bidding them a goodbye and returning to wherever it was that he lived.

Professor Hart did the same and said he had to get to the Archeology building to blast some rocks.

David laid down on his own bed, thinking of his future now. He couldn't go see Ellen. If he did, he would have to tell her everything - but would she believe him? He glanced at the bedside clock. 2.03AM. _Curse my own habits_, he thought, and fell asleep, knowing full well that 5.30 would be when he woke again.

* * *

It was eight in the morning, and luckily David didn't have a lecture on that Sunday. He didn't want to miss all of the important stuff. Craig was still snoring in the background, and David boredly flicked through the different channels on the television. At one point he thought he saw a documentary about Furret, but it quickly became clear that the programme was talking about wild pokemon in general.

The rest of the channels were boring, so he switched them off. He turned on the radio instead, tuning it to the university's own station. "Hello, folks, this is EHU FM, and I'm Jared Pulavski." Came over speaker just in time. _Great_, he thought, leaning back on the sofa, _I love this show._

"Lately I've been receiving requests about the nature of the pokemon Breloom, some students claiming that they have seen one walking outside on the campus grounds. But before that, I'd like to bring you out report of last night's carnage."

Now that was interesting. David turned up the volume, hoping the students outside wouldn't hear. "The attack on the opera house has been determined by Lilycove police forces to be that of a Magnemite's and a shiny one at that. So far, two suspects have been arrested - Craig Anderson and David Estok. The situation with these two students are as of yet unconfirmed, but it is believed they are being interrogated.

"Anyway, back to the Breloom thing. I've personally seen it walking outside the radio station, but the moment I pop out to photog-"

"Someone on your mind?" asked Craig, who had just woken up. "Don't give me that look. It's obvious from your face."

David turned off the radio. "I just want to get back to someone, that's all. But because of all this-" He waved his arm around the room. "-I can't go back now. She's going to misunderstand, I'm sure."

Craig looked deep in thought.

"You thinking about someone, too? Who's she?"

Craig smiled. David thought he'd seen someone smile at him like that before...ah, yes. Adam. "I actually prefer men to women," said Craig. "Sorry if that disgusts you-"

"It's fine. I got another gay friend." David thought back to all his friends. What was Ellen thinking right now? And Eli; would that guy be fine? To tell the truth he hadn't seen Eli in a week now. He should get used to having an apprentice.

The door to their room opened, and in strode Coolidge with a fat folder in his hands. "Got this stuff off the police," he said, closing the door behind him so the Project Starfish students wouldn't see inside. "Don't ask how. I got these for the two of you as well." He produced two pokeballs, and tossed them on the floor.

Furret climbed up David's body and curled around his neck, while Craig's shiny Magnemite floated by his shoulder. "Professor, he's trained to lock himself inside the safe. How did you get him out?" Furret nuzzled against his cheek.

"It's her last name - of course I know," Coolidge said dismissively. "Anyway, I've, erm, liberated this from the officer in the Chem building. Thought you two might want to see it." He opened the photo and drew out two photographs. "These were taken by CCTV camera right before an electrical pulse shut them down."

One picture was of the generator room, with its multiple cables strewn across the insulated floor. The other was from another angle, the same room, but this time there was something in the corner. It wasn't very clear, but David thought it looked like a large spider. "Is that a Galvantula?" he asked nobody in particular.

"I believe the owner of that Galvantula is responsible for the attack at the opera house," Coolidge concluded, handing them another sheet of paper. "His name is Javier Worlesky, but problem is, he doesn't have a Galvantula."

David held up a hand. "Sorry, professor, but how are you pinning him responsible if he doesn't even own a Galvantula?"

"Well, David." The professor drew his phone out from his pocket. "This is proof."

He took the phone and looked at the video Coolidge had opened. It was from one of the CCTV cameras, inside the generator room. For a while, nothing happened. Then he saw an arc of electricity snake towards the generator, and the lights went off. "I don't understand. That's just the Galvantula."

"Replay it again, and just before the lightning strikes, look at the left side of the screen." David complied.

He rewound the video up to the point seconds before the Galvantula launched its attack, and paused. True to Coolidge's words, there was someone standing almost out of frame. He had messy brown hair and wore a black glove with a white trim on one hand. "That's all you need to pin him responsible? The police aren't really going to take this seriously."

"That's why I need you and Craig to get him to admit to it. Or find his Galvantula, whichever comes first."

David shook his head. "There's something I have to do first."

* * *

He stood in the rain with his hoodie up, and waited. The small pocket radio he had with him was still spewing news about his escape from police custody, and telling all students to be aware of him and Craig.

He sighed. Nothing was ever easy in life, he knew, but what had he done to get framed like this? It was so unfair, but that was life.

It had been forty-five minutes and still no sign. Where was she? He spotted a blonde walking towards him, her raincoat swinging in the wind. David stepped out of the niche in the building he was in, and put a hand on her shoulder.

Ellen nearly screamed, only being stifled by her recognition of David. "Oh my god! What are you doing here?" she asked, eyes wide with terror. "I saw those people drag you off and where did they take you? I don't know what to think anymore-"

David placed a finger to her lips, stopping her panicked rambling. "I can't explain right now, Ellen, but I need an answer from you. Is that alright?"

She nodded.

David took a deep breath. "You're going to hear a lot of things about me - maybe you've already heard some - but I need you to trust me that they're mostly not true. I've been framed, Ellen, for someone else's crimes, for reasons I don't know yet. But we can fix this. We can stop all this madness. So here's the question: do you trust me?"

As an answer she pulled him close and locked their lips together. David was rooted to the spot. What had just happened? His mind was reduced to a bumbling mess in seconds, as he melted into their kiss.

"Of course I believe you, you idiot," she said, backing away. "You were with me when the generator blew! Why would I not trust you?" She put her hands on her hips. "Now, what can we do to get the real person responsible?"

"There's a boy called Javier in the Engineering faculty - I think he might be the one who overloaded the generator. He supposedly used a Galvantula, but there isn't anything to prove he owns one. I just need evidence to pass the blame onto him."

Ellen held up a palm. "Hold on, how do you know all this?" she asked sternly. "There's something you're not telling me."

He grabbed her hands. They were soft, but firm - just like the Ellen he had known since junior high school. Yet he couldn't tell her. If he did, she'd be their next target. "Just trust me. I have to go." He turned and ran.

"David!" she shouted, but he didn't look back. _It's for your own safety, Ellen_, he thought. _Stay safe._

* * *

"I've asked some of my prefects to go check out Worlesky's dorm room," reported Coolidge as he strode into the room around 10pm. "Nothing other than the pokeball with his Yamask in it. I don't see how he could have a Galvantula."

David looked up from the textbook he was reading. "Then maybe that boy wasn't Javier?"

"No," said the professor confidently. "There's a report saying he was the first person in the area. It's got to be Javier."

"Then maybe it's someone else's?"

"I've considered that possibility," said the professor, scratching his chin. "But it all goes back to the Galvantula being under his control - there was no-one else at the scene."

"It could have been loaned to him," said David, but he knew it was a defeat for him. There was only one Galvantula on-campus, one belonging to Anna Ritt in Philosophy, and she had never met Javier before.

The body of Craig on the bed shifted as he rolled over to see the professor. "I think there's going to be a second attack," he said confidently. "In the first one, nobody was hurt, because that wasn't the point. The goal was to make themselves known - these people, whoever they are, will try again to scare everyone off the investigation. David being framed just tell us that they're part of a powerful organisation, and might even control the police." He stopped for breath. "My conclusion is that they'll try scare outsiders from investigating, while they keep the police clueless."

Craig had a point. David couldn't deny the fact that all that had more chance of happening than Anna giving Javier her Galvantula. "So what do you suggest we do? If they can pull the police's leash like that, we're no match for them."

"I never said you were wrong. I think you should have a look at Ritt's Galvantula, see if there's something wrong."

* * *

Anna was sitting on her couch watching a detective drama movie and eating a bowl of sweets - yet she wasn't even a little plump. David closed the door behind him and lowered his hood. "I don't take kindly to mysterious strangers entering my room. Especially you." She pointed a finger at him. "I saw them drag you out of the line."

David sat down next to her, cringing at the sight of the sweets. "And you're not surprised I'm here?"

"I heard the broadcast saying you escaped this morning. Jared isn't without information, you know? So what exactly do you want?" She crossed her arms. "You don't like sweets?"

"Diabetes," he replied, eyes sweeping the room. "Can't even eat sweet ice cream. A little is okay, but not too much. As for the escape, that doesn't need to be explained. What I want to know is about your Galvantula."

Anna held up a hand and rummaged through her handbag for a pokeball. She came up with one that had a lightning bolt on it. "Don't try to get him out - I've released him downstairs," she said when she saw him poised to throw it.

He put the pokeball down. "Then do you know a boy called Javier from Engineering?"

"I've never even heard of him," she said.

Liar, he thought. "Oh, really? Because we have a videotape of him using your Galvantula blowing the opera house generator up." He smiled confidently. If it was really Anna's he'd be free the moment the Galvantula was captured. With Coolidge's Armaldo, that wouldn't be difficult.

The lights flickered, and went out. David took a step backwards, nearly falling to the floor, and fumbled for his phone. He turned on the screen and used it as a flashlight. "What the-"

There was a loud boom from outside - something just exploded. Anna glared at him. "I told you it wasn't me."

"Well," he said. "Now I believe you."

* * *

David and Anna crouched beside the entrance to the opera house, where the explosion had come from. Anna's flat shared the same generator with the opera house, and so did many other buildings in the area, causing a mass blackout.

He spotted a person pressed flat against the base of the Kricketune statue, and tapped them on the shoulder.

Ellen turned around, startled. "David? What took you so long?" she asked, and then saw Anna. "Who's that?"

"She owns the Galvantula. If anyone can override however Javier's been controlling it, it's her." David pointed to a shadow heading towards the entrance from the side of the building. "And if I'm right, that's him right there."

They moved as a group towards the stairs, David taking the lead and Anna coming last. They ducked into the heavy oak doors and entered the dark hall. The group navigated through the pitch-black corridors, past a long corridor and the entrance to the backstage, until they came to the padded doors to the seats.

David put a finger to his lips and counted down from three. Before he could get to one, there was a shriek from inside. He fell to the ground clutching his ears. What the hell was that?

When the noise subsided Ellen kicked the door in, to see the glowing blue light from the first attack hovering in the air. Craig's Magnemite. Craig himself stood illuminated in a halo of light, standing over a bowed Javier. The downed boy was still holding his ears, but David couldn't see what was going on.

David saw Craig fall to his knees, and ran down the aisle towards the stage. He climbed up onto the wooden platform and nearly fell into the gaping hole in the stage Armaldo had created. He rushed over to Craig's body on the ground and put two fingers to his neck. _Thump thump_. His pulse was weak, but steady. He was going to fine. A second check-over showed Craig was unharmed. The question now was, how did he get here?

He turned to Javier, who was still clutching his ears. David now saw why: the boy's ears were bleeding, a red sticky stream of blood trickling between his fingers. His eardrums had been blown open - the result of the shiny Magnemite's screech attack at a close range.

"Help!" David shouted to the two girls. If he didn't get Javier to the hospital, his conditions could get worse. "We've got an injured student!"

Ellen did a brief check on Craig, and told Anna to take him to her apartment. She tensed suddenly, and looked up.

Javier's Galvantula clung to the ceiling, it's forelegs clicking against each other silently. It scurried to the wall and then down onto the stage, fur crackling with electricity.

David's Furret automatically popped out of its ball, charging up a thunderbolt itself, and leapt. The two pokemon wrestled on the stage, sending sparks flying all over the opera house. Their similar sizes made it an even battle, but it was clear that the Galvantula - though slow - was stronger than the quick Furret.

Then out of nowhere: "Shadow sneak!"

Galvantula hissed, and became a black blur that dashed around the opera house. In moments it was gone. David turned around to see Anna, who had given the order, smirking. "You!" he said quietly, out of breath.

Anna just gave a little wave, and the Galvantula shadow appeared to snatch her up. Then they were gone.

* * *

"Craig was one of them," explained Coolidge to a tired David. They were sitting in Coolidge's spare room in the Project Starfish hub, two hours after the events at the opera house. "He changed his mind - quite luckily for us - and tried to correct his own mistakes. The result, you've already seen," he said, leaning back. "One thing's for sure though: sooner or later you're going to have to explain to Miss Halifax" - he indicated the room - "all this."

Coolidge was right. Ellen had to know someday. But that day would not be today. He was far too tired for that. "I think I'm going to sleep until the police guys clear my record," he said. "I guess Javier admitted to everything?"

The professor nodded. "He might be deaf, but he wrote down a confession for us. As for Craig, he's going to be cleared too," he said with a little wink. "Goodnight, I suppose."

David laid his head down on the soft pillow and smiled. For now, he had all the time in the world.


End file.
